In-Person New Officer's Training returns

In February, newly elected Officers from various HFIAW Local Unions attended the mandatory training class at the Maritime Institute in Maryland. 

New Officer’s Training (NOT), which happens once a year, is designed to instruct newly elected Local Union  Officers on the correct policies and procedures – such as running Union meetings according to Robert’s Rules of  Order, legalities of hand billing and managing ERISA  funds – that are covered during the week-long event.  

Due to COVID-19, this was the first time since 2020  that NOT was held in person. The class was presented in a virtual format, via Zoom, during the pandemic years. 

“During the pandemic, we modified our training to keep everyone safe, but I believe the class attendees get more out of in-person training,” said Insulation Industry International Apprentice and Training Fund Administrator  John L. Stahl. “There is more collaboration, time for  discussion and general questions.” 

The five-day training included 40 elected officials from  HFIAW Local Unions. It started with remarks from Stahl,  who welcomed the newly elected officers to the weeklong training session.  

General President Terrance M. Larkin also spoke to the group later in the week and participated in a partial day with other speakers and presentations.  

Additional International officers and staff in attendance included presentations from General Secretary-Treasurer  Robert W. Reap, Jurisdictional Director John K. Conroy,  Middle Atlantic States Conference International Vice  President Brian S. Cavey, Labor Management Cooperative  Trust Deputy Director Gina M. Walsh, Director of Canadian  Affairs Adam Melnick, Organizer Jamie Andre and Sheila  Sonon, from the International Office Staff of the General  President. 

The Insulators thank the various experts from outside our Union who came to educate our new Officers in their fields. This included the following:  

Kevin R. Adkisson, Director of Field Services at North  America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), joined the training to review the General Presidents’ Agreement  (GPA). The GPA is a stand-alone agreement in conjunction with NABTU and 14 International Unions that outlines maintenance, repair, and renovations while also establishing hours, wages and working conditions for building trades workers.  

The National Construction Agreement (NCA) aims to promote the efficiency of construction operations on all projects and outlines fair labor practices between the contractor and the business to ensure that the work is done safely, within budget and on time. 

Robert Kurnick, longtime HFIAW legal counsel from the law firm Sherman Dunn, made presentations on Davis Bacon, Duty of Fair Representation, Local Union Elections,  Picketing, Hand Billing, Fiduciary Duties and Converting  CBAs from 8(F) – 9(A) Contracts.